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Intro
The Choir Stones are Singing Each with their own route, our party members all find themselves on the island of Alimentum for the same reason: the legend of the Choir Stones. These ancient stones are said to sit on a point of convergence between the mortal plane, and the plane of the Kingdom of Heaven. As legend tells it, the pious and devout could visit these stones in times of crisis and be comforted by the voices of angelic choirs that spanned the gap between worlds. The Alimentum monastery was built on the island which became its namesake to be blessed by the presence of such a miracle, as well as to guard it. No one knows precisely when the voices stopped singing, but with the passing generations their glory ebbed to an impression of grace. Like so many holy sites of legend, the silent stones became little more than a pilgrimage for the devout made stark by its location in the bleak northern waters of Russus Bay. Russus Bay is home to a sprawl of islands, stretching from the northern coast of the vast Imperial island to the southern coasts of the wild and barbarous winterlands. Though not the largest of the islands, Alimentum is by far the most important. Sheltered by the monastery and tended by its inhabitants is one of the few tracts of arable and productive land in the region. Though most of the islands are imperial lands, and their population thus imperial citizens, they are a small and disorganized group with considerable logistical concerns. As such, few mainland resources are spared for the archipelago and the population relies highly on the agricultural boon of Alimentum. The naming of the monastery initially meant to reflected the “spiritual nourishment” provided by the holy site, but time revealed the further aptness of the title. Being so far removed from the central hierarchies of the theocracy, certain practices gained more ground under the reduced scrutiny. The Church’s official stance on any works of arcane magic condemns them as heretical and a threat to the Church’s holy mission. However, the clear beneficial elements of the craft can be viewed intertwined with a wide variety of Imperial technology. In an effort to keep control, the Secularum was established as an official Church oversight agency. Any practitioner of arcane arts must be registered with the Secularum and only engages in approved activities and works, with a strict ban on any offensive or otherwise weaponizable practices. The Secularum has only ever had a token presence in Russus Bay, and Alimentum’s agricultural capacity has flourished with arcane improvements. The great Wind Wall that guards the eastern coastline is recognized by arcanists as one of the crowning achievements of the discipline and draws practitioners to embark on their own pilgrimages, though the structure’s remoteness and the watchful eye of the Secularum forces discretion on the visitors’ part. Generations have passed and left Alimentum increasingly alone, despite its history. Recent events, however, may mark the beginnings of change. The legend of the Choir Stones has experienced a renaissance on the back of an orphan charge of the monastery. This boy, a deaf mute, was left on the doorsteps after a particularly fierce night of storms. He grew up under the watch of the monks, though his simple disposition meant he scarcely earned more important duties than cleaning the halls and tending the gardens. He approached his tasks with perpetual silence but unerring cheer and the monks felt fondness for him. They were thus suitably shaken when they awoke in the middle of the night to blood-curdling screams echoing down the hallways. The boy was seen running through the hallways, throwing himself against the walls, and all the while howling as though his skin itself were on fire. He was found collapsed in an atrium, bathed in moonlight tinted by the colored glass above. His body was bruised and bloodied, and the monks were speechless witnesses to his self-abuse. Healers were brought to tend to him, and even when all his body’s injuries, both within and without, had been mended, the boy slept on. A vigil was kept over his bed, but a month passed before the boy stirred. He did so in the dead of night. He sat bolt upright in bed, drenched with sweat and staring sightlessly across the room and muttered, “choro lapides cantare” - the choir stones sing - before collapsing back to the bed. The boy awoke early the following morning, and went straight to his tasks as though nothing had happened. He answered questions with eager smiles but no semblance of understanding. Brother Isaac, who had witnessed the boy’s awakening, made a trip to the choir stones - ostensibly to seek spiritual guidance in a holy place, but with a small part of him urging an investigation into the boys claim. He returned the following morning with chants ringing from his lips, “choro lapides cantare! The choir stones sing!” He had heard it with his own ears, himself born witness, to the resurgence of a miracle. Soon enough the whole monastery had made the trip to the stones, and though not all heard the choir, enough bore witness to lend truth to the boy’s words. Choro lapides cantare. The population of Russus Bay now flocks in increasing numbers to the stones, and so too does our party. It is at the beginning of one such pilgrimage that we will start our campaign. There are no selection restrictions on race or class of your character, but anyone choosing to play any kind of spellcaster should let me know ahead of time, as the setting places some (I think cool) restrictions on those classes. The campaign will start out in the Empire, a theocracy modeled on the Roman Catholic Church. Despite the clear religious influence, it has been hundreds of years since there were miracles (divine spells) in the world. At the time our campaign begins, however, this is starting to change. As such, divine spellcasters will be discovering their powers as a novel force in the world and they themselves, along with the world around them, will be shocked by their use. Arcane spellcasters are subject to the Secularum, a strictly controlling agency that functions as part Inquisition and part subjugating institution. The technology level of the world is mostly medieval, with a spattering of industrial-era technology that only works because of arcane magic. Trains route across certain major supply lines, and zeppelins patrol much of the coasts, but these vehicles run using a combination of medieval-era technology and arcane runes. This advanced technology is strictly controlled by the church and overseen by the Secularum. Any spells viewed as capable of used in rebellion are sought out and eradicated by the Secularum, but characters can gain access to them using certain underground networks of arcanists. We’re also working out a slightly different magic item system that will run in conjunction with the existing system, but we haven’t ironed out the details yet. The only restriction I’ve really placed on you guys is the one I always use: your character can have any personality, motivations, or alignment that you want, but he/she has to have a desire to stay with and work with the party.